U.S. Service flag - 362 stars
This large red and white wool flag is adorned with 48 blue stars and 26 golden-yellow stars on the front of the flag. On the back of the flag there are 288 blue stars made up of 12 rows of 24 stars. This flag is a U.S. Service Flag from WWI. These service flags were created by the War Department for home display to indicate family members who were serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Service Flags were and are an official flag of the U.S. Government, whose use and display are controlled by the Secretary of the Army. The Secretary of the Army is tasked with overseeing the design, construction, and manufacturing of Service Flags.
Service flags like this one were generally used in times of war to bolster moral among civilians. They were finished with headings and grommets for outdoor display. If a member represented by a star was killed then the star would be changed from blue to yellow.
On the front of this particular service flag there are 26 yellow stars that represent the deceased service members and 943 blue stars that represent the active members for a total of 969 service members. The blue stars on the front of the fag are in the shape of the number 943, broken down into 16 stars each, while the yellow stars border the number above and below in 2 rows of 13 stars.
It is surmised that the flag was originally filled with stars on both sides until it became too difficult to accommodate new stars as institutional members joined the armed services. Eventually at the end of the war a flag with a final count was made to represent the total contribution to the war effort of this particular organization.
Service Flags proved so popular that businesses, educational institutions and other organizations also adopted them to represent their employees, students, or members whom were temporarily absent while serving the nation. Because of the size of some of these organizations large numbers of stars were often seen on institutional Service Flags. Service Flags were widely used during WWI and WWII, but less so during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. They have had a return to popularity since the 1991 Gulf War and may widely be seen displayed in both homes and businesses.
The flag is in good condition but does display evidence of use with wear and tear on the fly, indicating outdoor display. Surviving institutional Service Flags with large numbers of stars from WWI are quite scarce, and examples in this condition are very rare. Sadly the institution that flew this flag proudly is unknown.
Provenance:
• Acquired by Lt. Col. Tim Weiser, Petersburg, VA, until, 2009.
• Purchase on Internet Auction by Perry Krevat for Zaricor Flag Collection, 2009.
Sources:
Madaus, Howard M.- Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict, VZ Publications, Santa Cruz, 2006.
Langtry, Albert, The Star of Service, For the Flag, For Liberty and for Justice
Boston, Commonwealth of Massachusetts ,1918
Service flag, Wikipedia, 23 June2013, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_flag
Service Flag (U.S.), Flags of the World, 23 June2013, from http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us%5Esvc.html
Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC) Archives, 2013.
Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
